Off My Mind: Do Superheroes Get Holidays Off?
We already know that heroes have committed and dedicated their lives to helping the innocent from the evils of the world. I brought up the question before whether or not heroes should get paid and many felt they didn't. They're being heroes because it's their duty. With that line of thinking, how could a hero be okay with taking a day off for a barbeque?
Most heroes fight crime due to some horrible incident that occurred in their life. They don't want the same tragedy to happen to someone else. But if you take someone like Spider-Man or Batman, they won't necessarily know what's happening across time if they're busy eating hot dogs. Someone like Superman is another story. Remember, he has that super hearing stuff going on. In Superman Returns, we saw him floating above Metropolis listening for something in particular. How could he live with himself if he was out having a good time and listening to someone getting hurt at the same time?
Maybe the solution would be to take turns. One hero gets Memorial Day off but has to cover the Fourth of July. Religious holidays are a different story since not all heroes would celebrate them. Hopefully you are in a situation where you are able to enjoy a day off once in a while.
As long as they wear their uniforms while they're on a roller coaster or at the beach.. They're good to go in case something happens.
But we've all seen issues where a character is on vacation and something usually happens and they have no problem springing into action. They can go on vacation, but they're just on call..
- they're on holiday until some brilliant super-villain decides that he'll strike when the superheroes are on holiday
- non-religious superheroes don't take holidays, Man-Thing, Blade I assume
- J. Jonah doesn't give employees holidays off
>>> Marvel Holiday Special 2004
It's a 24/ 7 gig.
Wrong place and wrong time and they'll be fightin' some crazy and savin' lives.
We should count our selfs lucky.
Nope. A Hero is on call 24/7, that is the sacrifice one must make when taking up the mantle.
A Hero has a certain frame of Mind that drives them to do what's right no matter what heppens or the circumstance they are in. If Peter Parker was out on a date with MJ and they were walking around New York City and he saw 5 Guys bum rush a man and drag him into an alley, what do you think he is going to do? He's going to kiss MK and apologize and then suit up. Now, take the same scenario and apply it to Christmas. Same thing is going to happen. Guranteed. That is the life of hero.
They have their little get togethers and stuff, but they never really take any days off.
Line you will never see in a comic: Blast you! You'll pay for this, but not tomorrow, it's Christmas. Merry Christmas! MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!
I agree with those that say they are "on-call" - since being a superhero is not a paying gig for most they can't take "time off." However, if they see something going down (or sense it or whatever) they can get involved. But heroes need down time and rest as well (like those awesome X-Men baseball games). The Daredevil movie (director's cut anyway - I don't own the original cut) shows Matt Murdock dealing with his need to sleep versus hearing every crime going down with his super hearing thing. He still needed to rest - maybe this is similar (and even a metaphor) for the modern working person. Work can go on 24/7 now with the various electronic devices and communication - but you can't work non-stop until everything is done. You have to take time off lest you lose your family (for which you work to provide) or burn out. Humanitarian workers face this all the time - the need for help is nearly endless - they can't help everyone 24/7. So they do their best but try to live a life as well. So yeah, employed superheroes (i.e. in their secret identity) get holidays off - and try to make the most of the day while helping as much as they can.
Superheores should practically be required to take days off. Not all of them at once, but they should get vacation time. More so than just about any other job I'd imagine, being a super hero is stressful. If you don't give yourself time to rest and relax, you get burnt out and exhausted, and unable to do your job very well. One look at Bruce Wayne early in Knightfall should show exactly why heroes need to be able to prop their feet up and rest sometimes.
Yeah, they can as long as its in shifts, lol.
I actually want to read that comic with the image of Hawkeye making steak now. xD Did Tony take his mask off for his friends? I seriously wanna know, if any Avenger buff can answer me.
I think they CAN take days off, as long as they remain willing to jump into action if they see some shit going down. I suppose that means that they really can't completely go on vacation, but that's the price of justice.
I can only assume that not every single superhero has to save the day every day. The stories writers give us reflect episodes in the lives of heroes... But, come on. I don't think any hero can be there fighting an alien invasion 7 days a week. I guess there are moments between each crisis when they can take a breath.
Besides, DC's 1 Year Later.
I think this is such an appropriate topic for a day like today; when we honor our service men and women of the military who in so many ways are like real-life superheroes in the way that they rise to the occasion and make it their duty to fight for us and to keep us safe by protecting us for outside forces. Happy Memorial Day to All!!
Even the most vigilante heroes are going to miss crimes, even Superman can't be everywhere (that needs him) at once. Sooner or later, you'll need a break, but I think the responsible heroes let their colleagues know to pick up the slack.
Didn't DC turn the day Superman died to a Day to Remember All Heroes? Because all the dead they were morning came back, so they built statues of firemen and such? So it was a Superhero Holiday right?
The X-Men got days off during Claremont's years. After every big storyline, they would all hang out at the mansion's pool.
I always thought that the best approximation of what Superman's life would truly be like was presented in the very first issue of Astro City. We saw Samaritan never having a moment's peace because he could hear people in need all the time. He didn't even have time to fly for a minute just to unwind. I can understand how lower powered superheroes might take a break every now and then, but the most powerful would probably feel guilty every time they even stopped to take a breather. If "With great power comes great responsibility," what happens when you wield "Ultimate power?"
@nick7913:
I don't know how Superman does it. He feels responsible for everything. I'm sure he hears tragedies happening when he's just having dinner with Lois. Maybe he's just learned to tune it out.
Maybe, if Superman can hear cries for help all the time, he can also hear how severe it is and if they get help.
Like maybe he is sitting down eating lunch with Lois, or sleeping at 3 am, and hears a cry for help. He hears its a mugging and then hears another hero save the day, all is fine and he goes back to sleep.
Or maybe he sleeps in a soundproof chamber like in the Daredevil movie. Kidding.
Oh, maybe this will sort of happen in the Marvel Comics Heroic Age, where they are all sort of on the Avengers and everyone is working together and will be able to give one another time off without having to be employed like agents.
The Brave and The Bold episode where Aquaman goes on vaaction with his family is hilarious.
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